Electric track for toy vehicles



April 26, 1 938. E HORN 2,115,108 ELECTRIC TRACK FOR TOY VECHILES Filed Sept. 8, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' inventor April 26, 1938. E. HORN ELECTRIC TRACK FQR TOY VECHILES Filed Sept. 8, 1936 2 sheets -sheet 2 Patented Apr. 26, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v Application September 8, 1936,- Serial No. 99,820

' In Germany February 7, 1936 1 Claim.

This invention relates to track-bodies for toyvehicles, such as toy-automobiles or other vehicles 15 different and variable velocities.

A' further feature of my invention is that said double track-body is provided, besides the two individual or main tracks, with one or more side tracks controlled by switches inserted at the point 29 of junction between said main and said side-track or tracks, the latter forming a connection between the one and the other of said main tracks and including an insulator for the operating current permitting the toy-vehicles travelling on the one 25 of said main tracks to be switched over to said second main track.

In my invention there is provided a novel trackbody for toy-vehicles travelling on a track without rails, said track-body being equipped for elec- 80 trical operation and ofiering the possibility of running two toy-vehicles in the same or in opposite direction on either of said main tracks with any desired and regulable velocity.

Since both electrical circuits for operating the V two tracks and the toy-vehicle travelling thereon are regulable independently of each other, it will, also be possible to run a single toy-vehicle on any of the main or side-tracks.

In the accompanying drawings I have represented an example of a construction of my novel track-body, Fig. 1 being a top-view of the assembled track-body with the main and sidetraclrs, Fig. 2 showing in an enlarged scale the current supply member supplying operating cur- 5 rent to all of said tracks and to the toy-vehicles travelling thereon, while Fig. 3 is a cross-section taken on Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a further enlarged topview of a member of the track-body including a track-switch provided at the point of junction be: tween a main and a side-track, while Fig. 5 is a bottom-view taken on Fig, 4, and Fig. 6 a transverse section through track-body showing the two main tracks with two toy-vehicles, such as toyautomobiles, running thereon.

55 Referring more particularly to the drawings,

so that a toy-vehicle may be run f the track-body as a whole is composed of several track-members which when assembled will present a ring-shaped double track comprising two individual closed tracks i placed side by side.

,The two main. tracks I are made by properly shaped depressions in each track-member with a central elevated wall between said two tracks, as may be seen from Fig. 6. Into the track-body there is inserted at certain places thereof a trackmember including a switch 2 consisting essentially 10 of a swingable tongue 4 permitting in one position thereof a pair of connections between a main track and one or more side-tracks l', the latter making connection between said two main tracks rom one into the other main track. e

The side-tracks i' may be passed underneath the main tracks at those points where the side tracks cross the main tracks. It will, however, also be possible to pass said side-tracks in the form of bridges above said main tracks if desired.

According to this invention the track-body is further provided within either main' and sidetrack with a central insulated rail II) which may be supplied with electric current, for instance, from the track-member 1 of the track-body. The track-member 1 is 'provided with a bridge 8 connecting all of the main and side-tracks conductively to a ground, that is, to the track-body.

A second conducting bridge 9 is mounted on said track-member l and insulated from the trackbody carrying separate current conduits leading to the current rail Ill within each track. The bridge 8 accordingly is equipped with one terminal in conductive connection with the track-body l and the bridge 9 is equipped with two terminals, each connected to one of the rails ill, whereby two operating circuits are formed of which each may be controlled by a special step-switch, permitting regulation of either circuit in such a manner that relatively small regulable voltages may be impressed onto either circuit, said voltages varying from between 14 and 20 volts.

The said two step-switches may also be united with a transformer H which is necessary for the electrical operation of the toy-vehicles on the track-body, as may be seen from Fig. 1. According to Fig. 1, as shown at the lower left-hand part thereof, the secondary coil oi transformer II is provided with contact-carriers I! having insulated contacts tapping said secondary coil, which contacts may alternately be inserted into the secondary circuit by means of a contact-slide, con- .tact-lever It or the like to connect said coil with? .one of the tracks l. The contacts of the lefthand slide or lever H are connected by leads I! to the right hand taps of the secondary coil, of the transformer II and connect the same to the other-track I. Thus a current of one intensity may be supplied to one track I while a current of diflerent intensity is simultaneously supplied to the other.

Inserted into the side-tracks l' leading from the one into the other main track I is an insulator 5, by which the circuits having different voltages for the two main tracks do not come in contact with each other, thus permitting independent control 01' the two track voltages.

The current supply rails III are interrupted at the switches 2, said rails Ill being, however, conductively connected by means of an under bridgeplate b. The tongue 4 mounted on the center piece of the switch, may be swung around the pivot 4 and'may, for instance, be adjusted by electro-magnetic means. For this purpose an armature 3 which co-operates with an electromagnet 3 serves to actuate said tongue, which bymeans of a spring is normally kept in a closed position to keep the main track open for passage of a toy-vehicle. If by means of a contact making device a current impulse is passed through the magnet-coil 3, the latter will attract the armature 3" with the result that the tongue of the switch is swung into the position shown in Fig. 4 in dotted lines, the main track being thus blocked and the side-track opened' to permit entrance of a toy-vehicle into the latter. The tongue forming part of this switch will of course move above the current supply rails l and, therefore, not

show especially the insulated carrier for thecurrent supply rails, said carrier including plates 29 and 2| of insulating material mounted respectively on the top and underside ofthe profile of the double-track-body.

The toy-vehicles travelling on the several tracks may be of the form of toy-automobiles or the like as shown in Fig. 6.

Figs. 4 and 5 The toy-vehicles may be provided with an under current receiving member S sliding on the current supply rail Ill, whereby. current is supplied to a motor (not shown) provided in the toyvehicle, said motor causing the travel of the latter within the respective track.

I claim:

In a railless track for toy vehicles, including a plurality of sections each being formed from a single piece of metal, each section being formed concentric track portions, said shunt track being arranged to transfer a vehicle from one track portion to another in a manner to reverse the direction of travel of said vehicle on said second track portion, a single source of electric current, a single transformer connected to said source of current, a single connection from one pole of said transformer to one section of said metal track to provide a ground for both track portions and said shunt, a separate connection from the other pole of said transformer to each current carrying rail of said portions, and separate means interposed in each of said last named connections for independently regulating the voltage of the current supplied to each current carrying rail of said concentric track portions, and means on said shunt for preventing the current supplied to the current carrying rail of one concentric track portion from reaching the current carrying rail of the other.

ERNST HORN. 

